Editor | Kerrisa Wilson |
---|---|
Former editors | Michael Hollett (1981–2016) Kevin Ritchie (2016-2021) Radheyan Simonpillai (2021-2022) |
Staff writers | Veracia Ankrah Camilla Bains Osobe Waberi |
Categories | Alternative weekly newspaper |
Frequency | Weekly |
Publisher | Brandon Gonez (2023–present) Brian Kalish (2019–2020) Alice Klein (2016–2019) Michael Hollett (1981–2016) |
Total circulation | print: 510,000 (weekly avg, November 2019) [1] |
First issue | 1981 |
Company | Gonez Media |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Website | nowtoronto |
ISSN | 0712-1326 |
Now (styled as NOW), also known as NOW Magazine is an online publication based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [2] Through most of its existence, Now was a free alternative weekly newspaper. Physical publication of Now was suspended in August 2022, amid the bankruptcy of its former owner Media Central Corporation, although some new content was still published to its website.
In January 2023, it was announced that the publication will be acquired by journalist Brandon Gonez. [3]
Now was first published on September 10, 1981, by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. [4] NOW is an alternative weekly that covers news, culture, arts, and entertainment. In its printed incarnation, NOW was published 52 times a year and could be picked up in Toronto subway stations, cafes, variety stores, clothing outlets, restaurants, alternative movie venues, and in its green and red newspaper boxes. NOW was published every Thursday for a period of over 40 years, from 1981 to 2022. In March 2022, NOW Magazine switched to monthly publication in an effort to save money. By August, the printed magazine was abandoned entirely.
NOW has been online since 1993, first as now.com and then as nowtoronto.com since 2000.
It is also a central sponsor and its owners held an ownership stake in North by Northeast, a major annual music festival in Toronto.
NOW was privately owned by Hollett and Klein until 2016, when Hollett sold his share of the company to Klein and left the newspaper to focus on North by Northeast as the festival's president and founder. Hollett became sole owner of NXNE when he sold his shares in NOW. Hollett started a new national music and arts print publication, NEXT Magazine, in 2020, publishing in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary,
In 2019, Klein's NOW Communications sold NOW to Media Central Corporation for $2 million. Klein remained with the newspaper as "Chief Editorial Strategist". [5] [1] A few weeks later, Media Central Corporation also announced a deal to acquire the similar Vancouver publication The Georgia Straight . [6]
In April 2022, Media Central Corp Inc., of which NOW Central Communications Inc. is a subsidiary of, that owns and publishes NOW Magazine, filed for bankruptcy. [4] [7] Soon afterward, several of its longtime staff members left, notably film critic Norman Wilner leaving to take a job as a programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival. [8]
In August, film critic and acting editor Radheyan Simonpillai stated on Twitter that the August 18 issue would be the publication's "last masthead"; in an interview on CBC's Metro Morning the following day, he clarified that the publication was not necessarily going out of business entirely, but would not be releasing print issues for the foreseeable future and many of its remaining staff were owed weeks of back pay. [9]
Syndicated content in NOW included Dan Savage's "Savage Love" sex advice column, Matt Groening's Life in Hell comic and Rob Brezsny's "Real Astrology". Notable writers and editors have included Matt Galloway, Naomi Klein, Cameron Bailey, Susan G. Cole, Jon Kaplan, Adria Vasil, Glenn Sumi, Norman Wilner, Radheyan Simonpillai, Kevin Hegge, John Sewell and David Suzuki. [10]
NOW published several comprehensive guide issues every year. Some of these include:
In September 2021, Media Central Corporation announced that the company would be selling nine NFTs made from previous covers published by NOW Magazine and Georgia Straight. The NFTs are still listed as open for bidding. [11]
In March 2022, NOW Magazine cut back on printing weekly issues in an effort to save money and grow its online audience. [11] In August, the printed magazine was abandoned entirely.
Some of these efforts include the construction of the Green Roof in 2006. The roof helps to keep the building temperature regulated while using less energy which aids in keeping pollution low. The plant life, which is a sedum species, helps to purify the air. The green roof also reduces stormwater runoff – which can cause sewage backup during periods of deluge. NOW implements a 100% recycled paper policy and uses only vegetable-based dyes for print. This effort, each year, saves over 28,000 living trees, reduces greenhouse gases – the equivalent given off by 534 cars, eliminates 7 swimming pools of waste water and saves 79 garbage trucks worth of solid waste. Now also partners with Green Enterprise Toronto (GET) and Canopy (formerly Markets Initiative). Both companies are dedicated to responsible business and green initiatives.
NOW is a certified B Corporation. [12]
The Georgia Straight is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as The Straight, it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools, public libraries and a large variety of other locations. The Straight has a long history of independent, unconventional editorials and content, and is known as a vocal critic of government, notably the former Liberal government of Gordon Campbell.
The Chicago Reader, or Reader, is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The Reader has been recognized as a pioneer among alternative weeklies for both its creative nonfiction and its commercial scheme. Richard Karpel, then-executive director of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, wrote:
[T]he most significant historical event in the creation of the modern alt-weekly occurred in Chicago in 1971, when the Chicago Reader pioneered the practice of free circulation, a cornerstone of today's alternative papers. The Reader also developed a new kind of journalism, ignoring the news and focusing on everyday life and ordinary people.
Michael Hollett, born 1955, is the founder and president of North by Northeast (NXNE) music festival which happens every June in Toronto since 1995. Hollett is also founder of the national print and online arts magazine, NEXT, available in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary since December, 2020. Hollett is co-founder of Toronto's longest-running free alternative newsweekly, Now Magazine. He was editor and publisher of Now from 1981 to 2016.
An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Its news coverage is more locally focused, and their target audiences are younger than those of daily newspapers. Typically, alternative newspapers are published in tabloid format and printed on newsprint. Other names for such publications include alternative weekly, alternative newsweekly, and alt weekly, as the majority circulate on a weekly schedule.
The Calgary Herald is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser. It is owned by the Postmedia Network.
The Varsity is the official student newspaper of the University of Toronto, in publication since 1880. Originally a broadsheet daily, it is now printed in compact form. The paper's primary focus is on campus affairs and local news.
Creative Loafing is an Atlanta-based publisher of arts and culture news and events. The company historically published a weekly publication that once had a 160,000 weekly circulation. It's last print edition was its 50th anniversary issue in 2022 featuring pieces by former Mayor Andrew Young, former editors Bridget Booher and Cliff Bostock. While Creative Loafing is no longer publishing a newspaper, it continues to serve a critical role as Atlanta's primary calendar of cultural events. It's critics have deep roots in Atlanta's culture - particularly in music. Currently The company has historically been a part of the alternative weekly newspapers association in the United States.
Jet is an American weekly digital magazine focusing on news, culture, and entertainment related to the African-American community. Founded in November 1951 by John H. Johnson of the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois, the magazine was billed as "The Weekly Negro News Magazine". Jet chronicled the civil rights movement from its earliest years, including the murder of Emmett Till, the Montgomery bus boycott, and the activities of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Alice Klein is the co-founder and former owner of Toronto's longest-running free alternative newsweekly NOW Magazine. In 1981, Klein co-founded NOW with Michael Hollett and several others. It is now one of the largest independent media organizations in Canada.
The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) is an organization of film critics from Toronto-based publications. As of 1999, the TFCA is a member of the FIPRESCI.
The Newspaper is the largest independent student newspaper in Canada with circulation on and around the University of Toronto. It has been published by non-profit corporation Planet Publications Inc. and financially self-supported since its founding in 1978. It was briefly circulated as The Independent Weekly before returning to its original title, which is now commonly stylized as the newspaper with intentional lowercase.
Metroland Media Group is a Canadian mass media publisher and distributor which primarily operates in Southern Ontario. A division of the publishing conglomerate Torstar Corporation, Metroland published more than 70 local community newspapers–including six dailies–and many magazines. In addition to printing most of its own publications, Metroland operates as a commercial printer of flyers and magazines.
GateHouse Media Inc. was an American publisher of locally based print and digital media. It published 144 daily newspapers, 684 community publications, and over 569 local-market websites in 38 states. Its parent company, New Media Investment Group, acquired Gannett in 2019, with the combined company using the Gannett name and maintaining its headquarters in Virginia.
The Arizona Capitol Times is a non-partisan, weekly newspaper covering state politics and government published every Friday in Phoenix, Arizona. The paper focuses on the Arizona Legislature, the state's politicians, government agencies and elected leadership.
Amanda Parris is a Canadian broadcaster and writer. An arts reporter and producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, she hosts the CBC Television series Exhibitionists, The Filmmakers and From the Vaults, and the CBC Music radio series Marvin's Room. She was cohost with Tom Power of the 2016 Polaris Music Prize ceremony. She writes the weekly column Black Light for CBC Arts.
Akilla's Escape is a 2020 drama film, directed by Charles Officer, his final feature prior to his death in 2023. The film stars Saul Williams as Akilla, a marijuana dealer retiring from the business following legalization, who tries to rescue a young boy from being drawn into a life of crime.
Next Stop is a Canadian comedy anthology web series created and directed by Jabbari Weekes, Tichaona Tapambwa, and Phil Witmer. It premiered February 26, 2019 on a dedicated YouTube channel. The series is executive produced by Amar Wala, the founder of Scarborough Pictures, and set in Toronto.
Norman Wilner is a Canadian film critic and festival programmer, best known as a longtime film critic for Toronto's alternative weekly newspaper Now.
The Brandon Gonez Show is a weekly online talk show, which debuted on January 17, 2021, on YouTube. The show is anchored by Canadian television personality Brandon Gonez, and focuses on national news stories in Canada covering political, social and entertainment topics. The kick off to the show was attended by Tessa Virtue, John Tory, Jagmeet Singh and other personalities.
Scarborough is a 2021 Canadian drama film, directed by Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson. An adaptation of Catherine Hernandez's 2017 novel Scarborough, the film centres on the coming of age of Bing, Sylvie and Laura, three young children in a low-income neighbourhood in the Scarborough district of Toronto, as they learn the value of community, passion and resilience over the course of a school year through an after-school program led by childhood educator Ms. Hina.